Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been awarded a line maintenance contract by Bahrain flag carrier Gulf Air.

IAI’s aviation group will provide post- and pre-flight services, daily maintenance and technical support for all Gulf Air aircraft landing at Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport.

The agreement was inked at a ceremony in Israel attended by Gulf Air’s acting CEO captain Waleed Abdulhameed Al Alawi (pictured above, left) and IAI’s EVP and general manager of the aviation group Yosef (Yossi) Melamed (above right), during a visit by a delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Al Alawi said: “We took pride in carrying the official delegation that initiated the historic relations between [Bahrain and Israel]; which paved the way for us to start new business relations with our colleagues in the industry, such as that with our friends at Israel Aerospace Industries. We look forward to benefiting from their expertise and the wide technical knowledge they are well-known for in the industry.”

Melamed commented: “The agreement with Gulf Air is a historic breakthrough for providing line maintenance services to the gulf states as well. The normalisation with UAE and Bahrain, that opened up new business opportunities in the world of aviation, will allow us to provide MRO services for more airlines from the region.”

IAI’s president and CEO Boaz Levy added: “IAI sees the normalisation between both countries as an opportunity for business and technology partnerships and this agreement is the first in many more to come.”